Chain of Responsibility

Changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) that came into effect on 1 October, 2018, provide that every party in the heavy vehicle transport supply chain has a duty to ensure the safety of their transport activities.

This means businesses who own themselves or contract other heavy vehicle owners or drivers to deliver their produce need to be aware of their obligations to minimise harm or loss by taking steps to prevent, among other things, overloading, poorly-secured loads and driver fatigue. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) advises that in practical terms, this primary duty represents an obligation to eliminate or minimise potential harm or loss (risk) by doing all that is reasonably practicable to ensure safety.

As a party in the supply chain, the best way to do this is to have safety management systems and controls in place, such as business practices, training, procedures and review processes that:

Changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) that came into effect on 1 October, 2018, provide that every party in the heavy vehicle transport supply chain has a duty to ensure the safety of their transport [...]